1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to hay balers for cylindrical bales.
2. Prior Art:
Balers for cylindrical bales form bales from a windrow of hay which is often considerably narrower than the pickup mechanism of the baler. The normal procedure involves steering the towing tractor back and forth in a "weaving" motion so as to feed the hay into the bale forming zone in a sinuous pattern with the goal of forming the bale with a uniform diameter and density end-to-end. In actual practice the operation requires a technique which is somewhat more complex than merely weavng back and forth. To avoid forming barrel-shaped bales (that is, too much hay at the mid-length of the bale), the ideal procedure is to run parallel with the windrow, cross over, and then run parallel on the other side of the windrow. This procedure is particularly difficult since the baler is directly behind the tractor such that the driver must look directly rearwardly over his shoulder to monitor the progress of hay in-feedingand bale development.
A further problem associated with the tractor-weaving technique is that the tractor wheels will inevitably run onto or across the hay windrow. To the extent that this causes leaf-loss in the hay, the nutritional value of the hay as a feed crop will be reduced. Moreover, when the windrows are relatively large the hay can become entangled in the downwardly extending hitch structure of the tractor. In this regard it has been recommended that a shield or piece of belting be attached to the underside of the tractor drawbar to help prevent bunching of the hay.
While there are implements which are shiftable laterally relative to a towing tractor (U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,811 for example), such do not have the operating requirements or characteristics of a cylindrical baler. And while balers are known which have offset hitch tongues (U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,018), nothing therein precludes the necessity for weaving the baler-towing tractor back and forth when working in narrow windrows.